Railroad crossing assembly



Jan 6 1970 AG. FARMER RAILROAD CROSSING ASSEMBLY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMay 7, 1969 Ill/l 11/1 I ll llllll/l/[I/ INVENIOR ASA G. FARMER Jan. 6,1970 v A. a. FARMER 3 8. v

RAILROAD CROSS ING ASSEMBLY Filed May 7. 1969 2 Sheets-:Sheet 2 {s mvmbnASA s. FARMER United States Patent 3,487,998 RAILROAD CROSSING ASSEMBLYAsa G. Farmer, 4311 Dayton Blvd., Chattanooga, Tenn. 37415 Filed May 7,1969, Ser. No. 822,600 Int. Cl. E01b 26/00; E01c 9/04 US. Cl. 238-8 11Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A readily replaceable crossingassembly for a railroad track having self-contained locking means onboth center and approach deck segments. Means are provided fordisplacing the locking means thus permitting anchorage to both the railsand cross ties.

This invention relates generally to a railroad appliance, and moreparticularly to an improved grade crossing structure as utilized toprovide a smooth planar transition across railroad tracks between theopposed ends of a crossing motor vehicle roadway.

Numerous prior examples of the subject structure are evident, includingvarious assemblies of metal plates, beams and other structural elementsintended to be positioned between spaced apart rails to provide thedesired top surface at a level which is maintained coplanar with the topof the rail heads. Many of these prior installations utilize a multitudeof components, some of which are intricately contrived and which requirean extreme amount of labor for the installation and maintenance thereof.

By the present arrangement only two primary components are involved,namely flat metal plate stock and longitudinal beam or channel elements,neither of which require any specialized fabrication and both of whichare assembled, prior to shipment to the site, by any suitable means suchas welding. There is no requirement during installation of the presentcrossing assembly to provide a multitude of loose separate fasteningmembers, as is so prevalent in many of the prior known devices, as theinstallation and any subsequent removal of the instant crossing assemblyis achieved by the instantaneous manipulation of a selfcontained movablelatch construction, which latch mechanism engages the undersurface ofthe present installed rails. Unlike certain of the heretofore offeredcrossing assemblies which are spiked or bolted to several or all of theunderlying cross ties, the present crossing arrangement will not besignificantly atfected during passage of rail traflic by the inherentuneven pumping action to which all cross ties as normally embedded inballast are subjected.

Accordingly, one of the primary objects of the present invention is toprovide an improved railroad crossing assembly including center andapproach deck segments all of which may be installed or removed with aminimum of time and expense.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a railroadcrossing including a center segment adapted to be disposed between therails and including movable latch members carried thereby anddisplaceable to engage the undersurface of the adjacent rails.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a railroadcrossing including an approach segment adapted to be installed adjacentthe field side of a rail and including lock means carried therebyengageable with the undersurface of the rail.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a railroadcrossing including center and approach segments, each of which areprovided with locking means engageable with the undersurface of a railand additional latch means selectively locking one side of the approachsegment to the rail cross ties.

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With these and other objects in view which will more readily appear asthe nature of the invention is better understood, the invention consistsin the novel construction, combination and ararngement of partshereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top perspective view of a railroad crossing assemblyaccording to the present invention as installed in the operativeposition.

FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,and illustrates in broken lines the alternate positions of the actuatingkey and movable latch members.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevation, partly in section, taken alongthe line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE1.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, andillustrates on an enlarged scale the retaining means for both the centerand approach deck segments.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly FIGURE 1, the presentinvention will be seen to comprise an assembly including a plurality ofsegments disposed both between the spaced apart rails R-R and betweenthe field side of these rails and the juxtaposed ends of the two roadwaysections R'-R so as to provide a smooth transition from the uppersurface of the roadway at the end R thereof across the space between thetop of the rail heads and thence across to the top of the oppositeroadway R. Substantially filling the space between the gauge sides ofthe two rails RR are a plurality of center deck segments 1 while theaforedescribed space between the field side of each rail and the encLRof each roadway section is substantially filled by a plurality ofapproach deck segments 2. In each instance it will be understood thatany number of either segments 1 or 2 may be provided for a specificinstallation, the number thereof being determined pri marily by thewidth of the roadway R, and there being no disadvantage in providingnumerous separate segments either between the rails or outside of therails with the present assembly, as will be appreciated hereinafter.

Each center deck segment, generally designated 1, includes a planar topplate 3 which may be grooved or otherwise fabricated on its upper mostsurface to provide an anti-skid finish such as shown at 4 in FIGURE 1.If only two center deck segments 1-1 are being used as shown in FIGURE 1it will be noted that the opposite end of each such segment will beprovided with a side edge ramp 5 connected to the edge of the top plate3 and inclined downwardly to a point corresponding to the top surface ofthe cross ties T, the lower edge of the ramp 5 then terminating in avertical depending flange 6. The adjacent edges of the top plate 3 andside edge ramp 5 may be welded or otherwise suitably rigidly connected,and from a review of FIGURE 2 it will be seen that this structure isthen supported upon a plurality of longitudinally extending structuralmember such as the center deck beams 7, each of which extendssubstantially the length of the top plate 3 and is suitably attached tothe undersurface thereof such as by welding. Quite obviously thevertical height of the beams 7 will be selected so as to insure that thecombined height of each beam and the top plate 3 will result in theupper surface of the top plate being disposed substantially coplanarwith the top of the rail heads when the beams 7 are resting upon the topsurface of the cross ties T between the two rails RR.

If more than two center deck segments 1--1 are being utilized it willfollow that the two outermost of said segments will be constructed asabove described and an shown in FIGURE 1 and that any intermediatesegments positioned between these two segments would not be providedwith a side edge ramp but otherwise would be identical in construction.

Insofar as the visible components of the outboard or approach decksegments 2 are concerned, the construction of these segments isanalogous to the construction of the center deck segments 1, that is,each approach deck segment generally designated 2 includes a top plate 3and, in the case of the outermost segments, a side edge ramp 5 having alower depending flange 6. As shown in FIG- URE 2 the supporting membersfor each of the approach deck segments 2 include a pair of structuralmembers, namely, an I-beam 8 disposed adjacent the field side of therail R and a channel element 9 disposed substantially flush with theoutermost edge of the top plate 3. It will be appreciated that anynumber of structural members may be employed to support the approachdeck segment top plate 3 depending upon the width thereof.

The inclined side edge ramps 5 of both the center and approach decksegments serve a three-fold purpose. Foremost may 'be considered thesafety aspect wherein it will be seen that should a vehicle tire dropoff the edge of the top plates 3 the possibility of an abrupt stoppageof the vehicle is minimized while recovery is facilitated. Secondly, anydebris entrapped beneath and carried forward by oncoming train trafficwill be directed over the top plates 3 and not strike an otherwiseexposed blunt edge. Also, the downwardly inclined ramps will be seen toform an enclosure thus excluding large amounts of trash and the elementsfrom the locking mechanisms contained beneath the plates.

The installation of both the center and approach deck segments is arelatively simple maneuver and yet results in a positive locking of thesegments in place while at the same time permitting a removal which isjust as simple and effective. In the case of the center deck segments 1a sliding latch mechanism is provided on the undersurface of certain ofthe longitudinal beams 7 so that after the segment has been lowered intoposition between a pair of rails and is supported upon the top surfaceof the intermediate cross ties therebetween this latching mechanism maybe quickly manipulated to positively secure the entire deck segment inposition by means of engagement of the latching structure with theundersurface of the two rails R.

The structure of the latching mechanism is illustrated most clearly inFIGURES 3 and 5 wherein it will be seen that a plurality of latch bolts10 are slidably mounted beneath the undersurface of tthe two outermostlongitudinal beam members 7 along each edge of each center decksegment 1. The bolt 10 preferably comprises a longitudinal plate memberand is supported for transverse reciprocating movement by means of apair of latch guide plates 1111 suitably attached such as by welding tothe bottom of the two longitudinal beams 77 involved. As shown mostclearly in FIGURE 3 each guide plate 11 is substantially U-shaped so asto provide a pocket 12 bounded by the upper surface of the guide plateand the lower surface of the beam 7 and dimensioned to provide a smoothsliding fit on the latch bolt 10 therethrough. One or more openings 13such as shown in FIG- URE 5 are provided through the intermediateportion of each sliding latch bolt 10 for the reception of the pin 14 onthe lower end of an operator key 15. This pin 14 is preferably of lesserdiameter than the main body of the key 15 so as to provide anintermediate shoulder 16 therebetween as will be seen in FIGURE 5.

By the foregoing arrangement, when the key 15 is inserted through one ofa plurality of access openings 17 in the top plate 3, the key may beprogressively lowered until the pin 14 is inserted within the opening 13of the latch bolt 10 with the shoulder 16 serving as a stop or abutmentto preclude excessive lowering of the key which would otherwise causethe bottom of the pin 14 to strike and drag through the ballast normallydisposed between the cross ties T. At this point it would be well toobserve that the installation of the plurality of latch bolts 10 must beso located to insure that these bolts and their attendant guide plates11 will be. positioned between or adjacent the cross ties and not strikeor engage the upper surfaces of any of the cross ties upon lowering of adeck segment into position. In view of the standard placement of crossties in a rail .line this positioning of the latching mechanism isreadily predetermined, and with this in mind aproperinstallation isachieved during lowering of a center deck segment 1 into position byinsuring that the depending flange 6 on the edge ramp 5 of the endmostsegment is vertically aligned with the side edge of a cross tie T as thesegment is lowered.

Thethus properly positioned segment is locked into a fixed positionafter insertion of the key 15 into the latch bolt opening 13 by theangular displacement of the upper end of the key 15 inthe mannerillustrated in FIGURE 2 in order to axially displace each bolt 10whereupon the free end or lock tab 18 thereof will be moved intoposition beneath the adjacent rail R. Preferably, the above describedlatch mechanism is provided at each of the four outer corners of eachdeck segment 1; however it will be understood that any number ofadditional latch bolts 10 may be provided particularly in the case of adeck segment of extremely long length wherein additional latch bolts maybe installed intermediate the outermost latch bolts in order topositively preclude any swelling of the outer portion of the top plate 3during subsequent use of the crossing assembly.

The installation of each of the approach deck segments 2 is somewhatanalogous to the aforedescribed installation of the center deck segments1 in that a simple single maneuver is required to position these lattersegments, as illustrated most clearly in FIGURES 2 and 5. During thelowering of each deck segment 2 into position the subassembly isslightly tilted downwardly toward the field side of the rail R to permitthe free end of a plurality of lock tabs 19 fixedly attached to thebottom surface of the base flange of the beam 8 to be guided underneaththe field side of the rail base flange. Again, any number of lock tabs19 may be provided along the undersurface of each beam 8, it beingunderstood that the spacing of these tabs must permit suitable clearanceto preclude interference from the top surface of the cross ties T uponwhich the rails R and beams 8 are disposed.

As each approach deck segment 2 is lowered into its normal horizontalposition the outermost longitudinal beam or channel 9 will come to reston the top surface of the cross ties at apoint substantially verticallyaligned with the end surface of the cross ties. The outermost edge ofthe approach deck segments is positively secured into position by thepivot latch arrangement shown most clearly in the perspective view ofFIGURE 5 and includes the latch bolt 20 pivotally attached to the outersurface of the channel 9 by the pin 21 to permit uninhibited angulardisplacement of the latch bolt 20 in the direction of the arrow shown inFIGURE 5. The lower free end of the latch bolt 20 will be seen toinclude a suitable notch 22 which cooperates with a fixed lock pin 23driven into the end of the cross tie T and by providing a headed lockpin 23 it will follow that both vertical and transverse displacement ofthe installed approach deck segments is precluded.

Removal of both the center and approach deck segments is achieved in arapid manner by a simple reversal of the above described steps wherebyit will be appreciated that at any time any specific one of the segmentsmay be removed and replaced without disturbing or affecting theinstallation of the remaining adjacent segments.

I claim:

1. A railroad crossing assembly including, an approach deck segmentremovably disposed upon the cross ties between the field side of a railand the end of a roadway, said segment provided with a top plateextending substantially the transverse distance between the rail androadway end, beam elements disposed upon the top surface of the crossties and supporting said plate with its upper surface substantiallycoplanar with the top of the rail and roadway, and rigid planar lockingmeans fixedly carried by the lower portion of one of said beam elementsadjacent the plane of the upper surface of the cross ties, said lockingmeans projecting in a horizontal plane beneath the undersurface of thebase of said rail.

2. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 1, wherein saidsegment includes a ramp inclined downwardly from one edge of said topplate to the top of an adjacent cross tie.

3. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 2, wherein the loweredge of said ramp is provided with a depending flange overlying the sideof the cross tie.

4. A railroad crossing assembly including, a center deck segmentremovably disposed upon the cross ties between the two spaced rails,said segment provided with a top plate extending substantially thetransverse distance between the rails, beam elements disposed upon thetop surface of the cross ties and supporting said plate with its uppersurface substantially coplanar with the top of the rails, and planarlocking means carried by the lower por tion of said beam elementsadjacent the plane of the upper surface of the cross ties, said lockingmeans movable in a horizontal plane to engage the undersurface of thebase of the rails.

5. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 4, including, anapproach deck segment removably disposed upon the cross ties between thefield side of a rail and the end of a roadway, said approach decksegment provided with a top plate extending substantially the transversedistance between the rail and roadway end, beam elements disposed uponthe top surface of the cross ties and supporting said approach decksegment plate with its upper surface substantially coplanar with the topof the rail and roadway, and rigid planar locking means fixedly carriedby the lower portion of one of said approach deck segment beam elementsadjacent the plane of the upper surface of the cross ties and engageablebeneath the undersurface of said rail.

6. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 4, wherein saidlocking means includes a latch bolt mounted for sliding movementtransversely of said rails.

7. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 6, wherein said latchbolt is provided with an opening and said top plate includes an openingsubstantially overlying said bolt opening.

8. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 1, wherein saidapproach deck segment locking means includes a lock tab extendingtransversely from said segment to said rail.

9. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 8, including a beamelement juxtaposed the roadway end and vertically aligned with the endsof the underlying cross ties, and said approach deck segment lockingmeans includes a latch bolt pivotally mounted upon said latter beamelement, and a lock pin anchored in the end of the cross tie underlyingsaid latch bolt and engageable thereby.

10. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 4, wherein saidsegment includes a ramp inclined downwardly from one edge of said topplate to the top of an adjacent cross tie.

11. A railroad crossing assembly according to claim 10, wherein thelower edge of said ramp is provided with a depending flange overlyingthe side of the cross tie.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 983,982 2/1911 Davis 23881,623,911 4/1927 Dailey et al. 238-8 1,769,464 7/1930 Rich 23881,844,912 2/1932 Eckhart 238--8 1,941,967 1/1934 Bell 238-8 ARTHUR L. LAPOINT, Primary Examiner RICHARD A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner

